Increased theft contributes to $50,000 expenditure at Tulane

Stolen items are utensils, coffee mugs and bowls.

February 6, 2013

Feb 6—Dining services at Tulane University, in New Orleans, approved a $50,000 expenditure to replace small dishware and silverware in Bruff Commons after increased instances of theft during the fall 2012 semester.

“While some of that was wear and tear on the dishes and flatware, the majority was due to students taking flatware from the dining room and not returning these items,” said Lisa Norris, director of dining and auxiliary services.

Norris said the stolen items are mainly utensils, coffee mugs and bowls but that salt and pepper shakers, napkin holders and other items are also disappearing from the dining hall.

Today's Top Story

More From FoodService Director

We started a 50-member vegan team in response to students expressing the need for more vegan options. Between our monthly meetings, students are asked to take photos of foods they eat in and out of the dining halls to give us a true picture of the kinds of things they like and the kinds of foods that cause disappointment. This exercise has sparked a lot of conversation and given us more insight into what we could do better.

Some of our employees can work four 10-hour days. It’s really helped with balance. We’ve also created a lot of hybrid positions, such as a personal services assistant and foodservice worker role. It allows workers to pick up more shifts and cover both positions.

We set up an interactive collaboration with our dietetics department where students worked with our culinary team to test how recipes are imagined and produced. One of the recipes they came up with was a barbecue tempeh sandwich, which they believed was a great option for vegan students across campus. We added the sandwich to our On the Go program and then expanded it to our vegan station on campus due to its success.

We have reorganized our salad bars to not only include the traditional DIY salad ingredients, but also several daily entree salads. Our students requested 32-ounce heavy glass salad bowls that have been wildly popular. The big bowls allow students to load up on their favorite salads and customize with additional ingredients from around the servery. We have seen a significant surge in usage that cuts across all groups, including athletes.

FoodService Director is the noncommercial operator's trusted source for profitability and innovation in a changing economic environment. This fast-paced, easy-to-read monthly publication delivers solutions and strategies to more than 45,000 highly targeted readers in all segments of noncommercial foodservice, including colleges, business & industry, contract management, schools, healthcare, senior living, correctional facilities and military. For the past 25 years, FoodService Director has served as the most readable and educational noncommercial foodservice publication on the market.